After a period of skepticism and some bad experiences along the way, the apparel industry appears to be warming up to PDM (product data management) technology. PDM is the software that manages the specs, revisions an...

Textile/Clothing Technology Corporation—known as [TC]2—named several new members to its board. Peter N. Butenhoff, previously president and chief operating officer, has been named chairman and chief exe...

Analysts are optimistic about the increase in new orders for durable goods in March, as reported by the Department of Commerce. Orders for big-ticket items such as machinery increased 2.0 percent to $...

The Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees has filed a lawsuit against Perry Ellis International charging that the apparel manufacturer is restricting its rights as a shareholder. UNITE owns a portio...

Bordeaux, France–based Lectra has promoted Patrick Simon to director of marketing and Claudio Saita to director of Lectra- Japan, a position previously help by Simon. Saita was previously director of s...

The American Apparel and Footwear Association has called for an immediate ban on U.S. textile, apparel and footwear imports from Burma due to the “ongoing cruel and oppressive nature of the ruling regime” in th...

California’s unemployment rate dropped to 6.6 percent in March from a revised 6.7 percent the month before, but employers shed 4,100 jobs during the same period, according to the Employment Development Department. Thi...

Barneys New York is headed for Florida. The New York–based retailer will open a Barneys New York CO-OP location in the South Beach section of Miami this fall. The 9,000-squarefoot, two-story store will carry men...

The Consumer Confidence Index appears to be rebounding this month—it has climbed from March’s 77.6 to reach 83.2, according to the University of Michigan’s preliminary April calculations. The university ...

Italian label Cerruti has taped Los Angeles designer David Cardona to design the company’s Cerruti women’s label and the 1881 line. Cardona will continue to design his own David Cardona line and will sp...

Jeremy Scott’s public-relations firm is doing a great job of turning up the hype full-throttle for the new–to–Los Angeles designer. Scott’s April 3 show at the Palace nightclub in Hollywood drew a massiv...

The wilderness setting inside Panacea’s spacious downtown studio loft seemed representative of how the Los Angeles–based clothing company takes aspiring design- school graduates and throws them into the wild business ...

Troy, Mich.–based Kmart filed a reorganization plan with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The plan includes the results of a poll of the company’s creditors. Not all of the compa...

The World Bank has revised its projection for global growth to 2.3 percent for the first half of 2003. In December, the organization projected 2.5 percent growth, and in July, the organization project...

Poor consumer confidence and lackluster retail sales may have put a dent in business, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a world of opportunity out there for financial institutions catering to the Southe...

St. Louis-based Kellwood Co. has struck a licensing deal with Cluett, Peabody & Co. for a line of men’s and boy’s sleepwear and loungewear under the Arrow brand name. Kellwood will handle design, so...

The American Textile Manufacturers Institute has named Willis C. Moore chairman of the textile- industry organization. Moore is the executive vice president and chief financial officer of Unifi Inc. H...

A new biannual trade show and auction for the close-out industry is set to bow Aug. 24–27 at the Las Vegas Hilton. Close-Out Expo will include exhibitors selling first-run clearance items, budget goods...

Fresno-based department-store chain Gottchalks has launched a new private-label brand for children called GK. The line runs in newborn and toddler sizes through boys size 20 and girls size 16. The col...

Manhattan Beachbased footwear company Skechers USA has signed a licensing deal with Garson International for a line of men’s outerwear bearing the Skechers brand. Garson International will design, distribute and market Skechers jackets and c...

New York-based Nautica Apparel signed a multi-year licensing agreement with New York-based Warnaco Group for women’s and juniors swimwear. The agreements calls for Warnaco to manufacture, distribute and market Nautica...

Sears Roebuck & Co. announced it is selling its credit-card division. The Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based department store will shed its $30 billion credit-card unit in order to focus on its core retail business. The...